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answers to some of the comments about the event


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i brought mine on the door the day before they were different cause mine had early bird on them the others didnt and were a different colour, oh and the people said they had normal tickets!

 

well you got your ticket at a different time to me, hence the difference in apperance, i assume your ticket also cost £10 like mine? the price reduced at 11am i think to £5.

people who said they had normal tickets could just have been mistaken or if new to these events didn't even know what a 'early-bird' ticket was and just assumed it was a normal ticket

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Good that you have answered some complaints, but once again THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE FACILITIES (OR LACK OF) FOR DISABLED PEOPLE; Big suprise there. Take your own seat? HA!

 

They mentioned why the chairs were not present? What else was absent (I'm just curious, not trying to pick an argument.)

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Thank you. And not only were they packed, they were exorbitantly priced. I'm not going to waste any of my limited funds to buy something I don't want so I can sit on high chairs where my feet don't even touch the ground, no matter how much pain I'm in. I'm disabled, not stupid.

 

You might have had to wait a few minutes to sit down at the busy times, but they were not that busy. Also, you didn't have to buy anything! I've no idea what high chairs you are talking about. I only sat in perfectly normal sized chairs :chair:

 

Showmasters have explained why there were no chairs... to be honest, I wouldn't ever EXPECT chairs at any event like this (ok, so CMK is different).

 

To be fair, me and my friends were sitting on the floor beside one of those restaurants for an hour and in that entire time, one seat became free. And I'm not sure which chairs you were talking about but the only chairs I saw at the restaurants were tall ones that, being 5'0, I literally had to climb onto and jump off of.

 

 

And another user confirmed that they were chatting to someone who had £5 standard entry tickets (for sure) who then walked in at 9am sat/10am sun (not sure which it was).

Edited by Psychosis
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Facilities for disabled people is something that should be taken up with the venue itself, Showmasters can only ask that facilities for disabled are in place, they can't exactly supply them!

 

Or do you mean things like wheelchair access up to a guest etc?

 

I believe there are laws that state venues/buildings etc must now have proper facilities for disabled access.

 

So I'm not quite sure what you expect Showmasters to say or do about this?

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To be fair, me and my friends were sitting on the floor beside one of those restaurants for an hour and in that entire time, one seat became free. And I'm not sure which chairs you were talking about but the only chairs I saw at the restaurants were tall ones that, being 5'0, I literally had to climb onto and jump off of.

 

 

And another user confirmed that they were chatting to someone who had ?5 standard entry tickets (for sure) who then walked in at 9am sat/10am sun (not sure which it was).

 

There was one cafe that was smaller than the others, could it have been that one? Once, my friends and I went to the cafe and couldn't sit, but we hung around for 5 minutes then got a whole table. I never saw the cafe without the odd chair free.

 

If someone is cheating by using a standard entry to get in early, then that's their bad for cheating!! I guess it might be easy to do... given the mad rush to get in!

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Peeka-- Exactly! That's what I'm trying to say. What the hell?

 

Psychosis-- Right! You see how it is, being petite, where people of average height might overlook these things... I'm only 5'4", here, and my joints being what they are, I'm not agile enough to jump onto one of those things. They were tall chairs, even if I'd been able to get one, and I never saw one free anyway. It wasn't so much the fact of there not being any chairs free at the café as that a- they were way too tall to be of any help, and b- I've been turfed out of busy places before for using a seat that could have held a paying customer, so I didn't want to risk that. Or pay their stupid prices when I only had £35 for the whole weekend.

 

Gebes-- I would have thought she was including having some reasonable seating in the 'facilities' comment. I sure would.

Edited by Trialia
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Thankfully I only went along on both days to see one guest - Dom Monaghan.

The only moans I have is not being able to take unposed photos even from

the queue. I was lucky to have photo tickets on both days, but I heard many

people complaining that they weren't able to take a picture up close. But then

saying that I also saw some fans getting told off while other fans queuing to

see different guests being allowed to take pictures from their queue!

 

I was disappointed about the lack of seating as well. It didn't do my bad back

any favours I can tell you! I noticed the Patrick Stewart farce & felt sorry for

all those who missed out.

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Peeka-- Exactly! That's what I'm trying to say. What the hell?

 

Psychosis-- Right! You see how it is, being petite, where people of average height might overlook these things... I'm only 5'4", here, and my joints being what they are, I'm not agile enough to jump onto one of those things. They were tall chairs, even if I'd been able to get one, and I never saw one free anyway. It wasn't so much the fact of there not being any chairs free at the caf� as that a- they were way too tall to be of any help, and b- I've been turfed out of busy places before for using a seat that could have held a paying customer, so I didn't want to risk that. Or pay their stupid prices when I only had �35 for the whole weekend.

 

Gebes-- I would have thought she was including having some reasonable seating in the 'facilities' comment. I sure would.

 

I can just imagine how hard that would be for you. Poor thing :chair: Although it did save you from embarassment! I tried to get off one, tried to balance on the table, nearly knocked over the table, ended up having to literally jump from the seat to the floor, nearly knocked the chair over, caught the chair by flicking my leg out backwards, but nearly sprawled forward on my stomach! :chair:

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Psychosis-- Right! You see how it is, being petite, where people of average height might overlook these things... I'm only 5'4", here, and my joints being what they are, I'm not agile enough to jump onto one of those things. They were tall chairs, even if I'd been able to get one, and I never saw one free anyway. It wasn't so much the fact of there not being any chairs free at the cafe as that a- they were way too tall to be of any help, and b- I've been turfed out of busy places before for using a seat that could have held a paying customer, so I didn't want to risk that. Or pay their stupid prices when I only had 35 quid for the whole weekend.

 

I can just imagine how hard that would be for you. Poor thing :chair: Although it did save you from embarassment! I tried to get off one, tried to balance on the table, nearly knocked over the table, ended up having to literally jump from the seat to the floor, nearly knocked the chair over, caught the chair by flicking my leg out backwards, but nearly sprawled forward on my stomach! :chair:

Very, very hard. *frowns* And annoying to try. I tried it in EC2 at last year's LFCC, and my arthritis was less advanced then, so I knew this time I couldn't do it.

 

Owwwww. That sounds like it would have hurt! I hope you're OK. *hugs*

 

 

I'm training professionally in dance but I'm short (5' 1") and I had issues with one of those big chairs... I turned the simple act of sitting on one into a full-scale ballet! :chair:

 

You see? :chair:

Edited by Trialia
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Don't You just Love the "fallout" after an Hectic Show...?

 

I know I do, and it never fails to surprise me how contentious opinions appear time after time....

 

I've attended shows/cons for 10+ Years, so it's fair to say my views are well observed and are not without solid foundation.

 

Showmasters are not entirely indefensible in respect to Sunday's proceedings. I was one of the several-hundred thousand who preyed mob to 3 Quarters of The Hobbits at Collectormania 4 in 2003. C4 was considerably worse for any of us who care to remember, or haven't undergone extensive therapy to erase that weekend from memory.

 

The Sunday when Elijah, Sean & Dominic appeared was a lesson in how to avoid such issues as experienced with The HEROES and Patrick Stewart. At C4, All virtual Queue tickets had been distributed by approx 10am (after the mile-long Q and inevitable Stampede through Milton Keynes Boulevards) rendering the event a non-starter for anyone arriving just after the Official opening time!

 

There was incredibly NO LIMIT on the number of Autographs from any 1 guest! Posed photos were permitted!! Consequently, the big Stars failed to reach Tickets much beyond the 700 mark.

 

Needless to say, much was gleaned in the aftermath for the better, preventing a repeat performance for every show since..... until Now.

 

To my knowledge, this was the first Mainstream "Open Doors" Event for Patrick Stewart, the second for Dominic Managhan and HEROES firmly at the height of it's UK popularity. What X-actly did the organisers expect, in a particulary less-than-sexy environment??

 

It was patently obvious having all the BIG Stars together in an inadequate area was a recipe for blood, sweat & tears. There was no cordoned area for queuing. Distributing Virtual Queue tickets in excess of 1200 was an exercise in futility causing those poor people to hang-around unnecessarily, further adding to the mayhem.

 

The Legendary Patrick Stewart was first on the Agenda, Thoroughly Decent Chap, signatures obtained without "Much Ado". When I decided to brave the Q's for the Lovely Hayden, it was 1.30pm. The Virtual Q "Now Serving" had only reached 200, the writing was definitely on the wall....

 

Fortunately, I had low ticket numbers for all the Distinguished Guests (Including Jack, Milo & Adrian), and largely speaking received all the Autographs I desired with a Pleasant but brief exchange. Realistically I couldn't have hoped for much more given their Popularity is on a Global Scale.

 

However, for those less fortunate than me, The following questions remain;

 

Why distribute Virtual Tickets well in excess of 1000+?

 

Why is a Guest's limited engagement not made Publicly aware in advance?

 

Why Not Permit Non-Flash Photography from the Q's?

 

It is fully Appreciated Showmasters are primarily Running a Business, Numbers through doors, every autograph signed and Photo-shoot taken is a £Pound in the right direction.... for them at least.

Edited by jeffahey4ever
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Peeka-- Exactly! That's what I'm trying to say. What the hell?

 

Psychosis-- Right! You see how it is, being petite, where people of average height might overlook these things... I'm only 5'4", here, and my joints being what they are, I'm not agile enough to jump onto one of those things. They were tall chairs, even if I'd been able to get one, and I never saw one free anyway. It wasn't so much the fact of there not being any chairs free at the café ¡s that a- they were way too tall to be of any help, and b- I've been turfed out of busy places before for using a seat that could have held a paying customer, so I didn't want to risk that. Or pay their stupid prices when I only had ?35 for the whole weekend.

 

Gebes-- I would have thought she was including having some reasonable seating in the 'facilities' comment. I sure would.

 

Are you aware there were three cafes inside the upstairs of EC1? I'm only 5'6 (and a half) and I assure you that there WERE 'normal' size chairs (and lots of them). There weren't enough staff there to go around turfing people off chairs and even if they had asked you to move (even after you'd told them of your plight), you just had to go to the other cafe to sit down.

 

 

Why Not Permit Non-Flash Photography from the Q's?[/b]

 

 

To be honest, I think you could have gotten away with no-flsh photography... except the venue lights were insufficient for any pics to come out well.

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There was incredibly NO LIMIT on the number of Autographs from any 1 guest! Posed photos were permitted!! Consequently, the big Stars failed to reach Tickets much beyond the 700 mark.

 

I've done C4 as well, and sorry, this is not correct.

 

There was a limit of 5 autographs per guest in place. I am extremely sure of that because that meant I had to battle the Elijah crowd both days. Also, posed photos at most queues were only permitted for like half an hour and then stopped.

 

Distributing Virtual Queue tickets in excess of 1200 was an exercise in futility causing those poor people to hang-around unnecessarily, further adding to the mayhem.

 

Everyone having high numbered tickets was told that it was unlikely they'd get to see the guests. I was around the Patrick Stewart area when tickets of about 1000 were given out and have heard the Pit Boss handing out the tickets telling everyone.

 

Why distribute Virtual Tickets well in excess of 1000+?

 

Hayden signed much faster towards the end. I don't know up to what number she made it, but it was pretty high. Can you imagine what would have happened if no VQ tickets higher than let's say 500 had been distributed? There'd have been a "free for all" with "the pushiest person wins", and people would have been seriously injured.

 

It was bad enough as it was, because there were too many people just refusing to leave the area because they were afraid to miss their turn.

 

Why is a Guest's limited engagement not made Publicly aware in advance?

 

It has been stated in another thread that there was the option between 1200 autographs and 3 hours - 1200 means about a full day if guests don't pull a Shatner.

 

Why Not Permit Non-Flash Photography from the Q's?

 

Not everybody has a camera good enough for that, and you can count on people trying to be sneaky and take pictures anyway (see photos here) and most of them will not turn off the flash. Then someone else sees the flash go off and takes a picture too. And the whole snowball effect will start.

 

I've had my camera out most of the time (it's a DLR and too large to put away and take out again all the time). One crew member in I think Jack's queue even asked if he could hold the camera for me - he apparently was aware that I could take pictures with it if I wanted. I had no problem with that as I wasn't going to use it anyway, but so much for "getting away with it". :D

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Facilities for disabled people is something that should be taken up with the venue itself, Showmasters can only ask that facilities for disabled are in place, they can't exactly supply them!

 

Or do you mean things like wheelchair access up to a guest etc?

 

I believe there are laws that state venues/buildings etc must now have proper facilities for disabled access.

 

So I'm not quite sure what you expect Showmasters to say or do about this?

 

As it has been so kindly pointed out, I'm not just referring to the facilities now. I should've made that clearer, please excuse me for such an oversight.

 

 

Some people are so ignorant. I mean; how about letting people get Virtual Queue tickets for people in wheelchairs or people who have difficulty queuing? How hard is that? I only got to meet Milo and Adrian because that was the only queue I could bear to stand in and I wasn't allowed to get a ticket for them for my friend who's in a wheelchair who could barely get to the back of the queue, let alone the front. That's the venue's fault is it?

 

And how about a teensy bit of respect from some of the staff? I was spoken to like I was lying about my disability, do you know how sick I am of people doing that? I get it most of my life so I don't appreciate having paid a lot of money for an event and to have people being completely inconsiderate, rude and downright ignorant toward me. I understand they were stressed, but you know what; I've been there. I used to deal with customers one day and what I always knew, was no matter how awful you felt; DONT TAKE IT OUT ON THE CUSTOMERS! You wouldnt like it if it were you.

 

I'm sorry if I'm now sounding angry, but to be honest I am. It's bad enough that I have to live with the fact I can't walk properly or stand for very long, without being penalised for something I love doing. I got home that afternoon and I was so sick, I had an awful migraine and had to go straight to bed. All because I couldn't get a damn seat and was being pushed around from pillar to post so excuse me if I made a tiny little comment about the appalling nature in which I was treated.

 

RE: Sitting in the cafe. Every time we went to sit there we couldn't because it was full and the one time we did sit there we were asked to move even after we explained the situation. No not SM's fault.

 

In the long run, it's SM's event and so they should ensure that these problems are not seen in the future again.

 

Unless there is someone I reeeeally want to meet, I won't be making the trip back to LFCC.

Edited by peeka85
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Some people are so ignorant. I mean; how about letting people get Virtual Queue tickets for people in wheelchairs or people who have difficulty queuing? How hard is that? I only got to meet Milo and Adrian because that was the only queue I could bear to stand in and I wasn't allowed to get a ticket for them for my friend who's in a wheelchair who could barely get to the back of the queue, let alone the front. That's the venue's fault is it?

 

I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding things here, I am not a native speaker. Those problems you describe here are not "problems with the facilities" as you have called them before. Problems with the facilities are the lifts, restrooms seating etc. per my definition. And gebes is right with what he said, these problems have to be taken to Earls Court, these are not Showmasters' fault.

 

What you describe now shouldn't have happened, and I agree, this is Showmasters' responsibility.

 

I was in a wheelchair at last LFACC and in Manchester thanks to a stupid accident, and my friend who helped me with the VQ ticket never had problems getting me one.

Unfortunately there's still enough people who do not tell the truth and claim they need a second ticket for a disabled friend, and I am afraid that in this madness some crew members may have acted too cautious in that mayhem.

 

You could have gone to a pit boss or to the infomation booth and informed them, I am sure you would have both been let in.

 

I agree with you though, some kind of disabled pass for future events is something that should be considered.

Edited by Queen_Sindel
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Some people are so ignorant. I mean; how about letting people get Virtual Queue tickets for people in wheelchairs or people who have difficulty queuing? How hard is that? I only got to meet Milo and Adrian because that was the only queue I could bear to stand in and I wasn't allowed to get a ticket for them for my friend who's in a wheelchair who could barely get to the back of the queue, let alone the front. That's the venue's fault is it?

 

I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding things here, I am not a native speaker. Those problems you describe here are not "problems with the facilities" as you have called them before. Problems with the facilities are the lifts, restrooms seating etc. per my definition. And gebes is right with what he said, these problems have to be taken to Earls Court, these are not Showmasters' fault.

 

 

 

Ok well I'm including everything, I couldn't think of a better word for them. It is SM's fault that they didn't ensure the facilities would be right. Maybe I should call it Disabilities PR?!

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Ok well I'm including everything, I couldn't think of a better word for them. It is SM's fault that they didn't ensure the facilities would be right. Maybe I should call it Disabilities PR?!

 

Okay, so now we are back to the actual facilities? I think I've explained everything about the VQ ticket bit.

 

Chris_mk has already asked you what facilities were missing? Sorry if you have answered already, but I didn't see it.

 

The lack of chairs has been explained.

There were disabled restrooms and there was also a lift for wheelchair users to go up to the first floor. In addition, the access to the guests when you had your VQ tickets was way better than in Manchester. They had to move countless things out of the way for me back then.

 

I am seriously very sorry if I am overlooking something here, but this was all I needed when I was wheelchair-bound last year. What facilities did Showmasters miss?

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Ok well I'm including everything, I couldn't think of a better word for them. It is SM's fault that they didn't ensure the facilities would be right. Maybe I should call it Disabilities PR?!

 

Okay, so now we are back to the actual facilities? I think I've explained everything about the VQ ticket bit.

 

Chris_mk has already asked you what facilities were missing? Sorry if you have answered already, but I didn't see it.

 

 

I actually replied before you answered, and saying the staff were being too overcautious is not an excuse. Especially when you can see someone is in a wheelchair and someone can't walk properly. I don't see that I have to explain myself anymore. Thank you for your response, it was very informative. Just out of interest, are you staff?

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Oops, sorry then, I got confused. I read your last answer and apparently didn't understand correctly. I got home from LFACC with a cold, and that's not helping when you try to answer in busy topics. ;)

 

Nope, I am not staff. I'm just a moderator here on the boards. But as I said, I have spent two of the last events in a wheelchair, so I have some first hand experience here. :band:

 

Showmasters staff is really helpful when you are disabled and have problems. They even helped me get a wheelchair from the venue when I realized that I had overestimated my strength with going on crutches.

 

The problem is that there's really enough people around who are actually that sad and abuse the system, so in the heat of the moment people with real problems may suffer. You just have to let SM know what happened on the day and they'll fix it.

 

I actually think you are a very brave soul. I wouldn't have dared braving the Heroes crowd on crutches.

Edited by Queen_Sindel
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  • Moderators

I can say that it's a lot about common sense in terms of crew members etc, and the majority do make the right decisions but we certainly have to be wary about people taking advantage of certain situations. It's horrible, but there really are people that do it.

 

I'm sorry if things were made awkward for you at any time, and not as easy as they should've been, but I hope it doesn't put you off attending in future. It's very rare that people have major complaints about the crew - I personally was on the Robert Englund queue, so I was lucky that it was quiet enough to manage easily, but I can only imagine the pressure in the other section!

 

It's not an excuse for bad behaviour whatsoever, but if anything comes out of it then at least people can learn and improve I hope. We all have room for personal growth and dealing with the public in a better fashion.

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The lack of seating may have been explained, but that doesn't give us any kind of hope that things will be different next time. As things stand, unless one of the two actresses I fangirl out of all reason is attending, I won't be. I'm not going to put myself through that and I wouldn't blame Peeka if she didn't either.

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